Pre-Law Advising
The Pre-Law Advising program at Stonehill provides individualized guidance to students with an interest in a legal career.
Above: Nicholas Sangiovanni ’18, Boston University School of Law
Tailored to Your Interests and Goals
We work with students at all stages – from those who are in an early exploratory phase to those who are deciding among several offers of admission to law school. We offer one-on-one meetings to help students devise their own pathway through Stonehill’s undergraduate offerings and opportunities. These efforts are tailored to students’ interests and goals, whether they hope to prosecute criminals, work as an associate in an international law firm, or use their law degree in support of some other goal.
Stonehill does not offer a pre-law major because law schools value the diversity of undergraduate majors of the students they admit. We encourage students to choose a major in a field that they have a genuine interest in or passion for.
Multi-Faceted Approach
Personalized advising and counseling support is at the heart of the pre-law program at Stonehill. These sessions are centered on dialogue about how a student’s needs and interests line up with the options and opportunities that a student may pursue including courses, internships and co-curricular activities.
Beyond this tailored advice and guidance, the pre-law program offers:
- LSAT prep course
- opportunities to connect with practicing lawyers
- mock trial team that competes against other colleges
- student-run pre-law society that sponsors many events for students interested in the law
Villanova University School of Law Partnership
Villanova University School of Law and Stonehill College have arranged for the direct-entry admission of qualified Stonehill students to pursue a doctorate in law at Villanova University School of Law.
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Meet Your Pre-Law Advisor
Rob Rodgers is the Pre-Law Advisor at Stonehill. With expertise in both political science and law, Rodgers received many honors including the Quin Morton Teaching Fellowship, the Princeton University Graduate Fellowship, the Mellon Foundation Dissertation Grant and the Louise F. Hegarty Award for Excellence in Teaching.
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Attorney Mentors
A significant number of Stonehill alumni are attorneys, and they are, on the whole, genuinely interesting in helping out current students. By talking to a Stonehill graduate who practices law, students can find out first-hand if such work truly appeals to them and learn more about different practice areas.
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Guest Speakers
Stonehill regularly invites individuals who have accomplish careers in law to share their stories. Below are some of the most recent speakers.
Professor Rodgers connected students with Stonehill alumni in the field, and even facilitated a panel discussion featuring practicing attorneys for the students’ benefit. All of this was helpful to me while I applied to law school and decided where to attend.
Recent Law School Placements
We are proud of our combination of challenging academics, quality practical experiences and accessible advising. For students interested in pursuing a law degree, the results have been impressive.
Pre-Law Outcomes
We are proud of our combination of challenging academics, quality practical experiences, and accessible advising. For students interested in pursuing a law degree, the results have been impressive.
Common questions about becoming a lawyer
The practice of law can be intellectually stimulating, and there is no doubt that a law degree (a juris doctor or J.D.) can open the doors to careers in government, business, higher education, communications and numerous other fields. Law school graduates are administrators, teachers, entrepreneurs and business managers as well as lawyers, judges and politicians. Learn more
Students interested in pre-law should choose a major they are interested in and that will help them be ready for law school. Learn more
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT) is currently a mandatory requirement for all individuals seeking admission to law school. Through June 2024, the test has three types of questions: reading comprehension, logical reasoning, and analytical reasoning (logic games). Starting August 2024, the analytical reasoning questions will no longer appear on the test.
The simple answer to the question of how to score highly on the LSAT is to study hard. The pre-law advisor will work with you to develop a plan to prepare for the LSAT and to determine when you should take the test. To help students, the college offers an LSAT prep course on campus each semester.
After the LSAT has been conquered, students need to turn their attention to the other pieces of their application. The pre-law advisor will work with you to develop your personal timeline (including the possibility of taking time to do something between graduation and attending law school), write your personal statement, obtain your letters of recommendation, and consider the inclusion of additional statements with your application.